Page 20 of Reckless Forever (Jennings Mafia Family #3)

He let his words hang in the air as he took a step back and his eyes scanned the room, as if he was committing every face and movement to his memory. I let the weight of it all settle; I had stepped from one world into the powers of another.

But I brushed it off as I walked through the room like I owned it. Hollow could tell me whatever he wanted, but I was an adult, and this was the perfect moment to make connections in my career.

I sat in the front row at the panel, took notes from the keynote speakers, and completely threw myself into the whole experience.

I was at a hurricane simulation when Russell made his way back over to me, and we had another conversation.

We were about five minutes into it when he revealed his real motives.

“I think you’re so gorgeous. I was speaking to my colleague, and she said you mentioned being from Bolivia.”

“I am,” I said, smiling politely.

“Maybe I can take you out sometime and show you around.” His hand went to my waist, and he took a step closer to me. It caught me completely off guard.

Before I could react, I saw a flash of steel on his shoulder. It tapped him twice. “Watch your fucking hands,” the voice gritted.

I turned to meet the angry eyes of Judah. The news anchor quickly took his hand back, and in seconds, a small crowd of spectators had gathered.

“I didn’t-”

“Unless you want me to change the forecast in this bitch and make it rain, get fuck out of my face.” His tone caused me to snap my head. He didn’t have to tell Russell twice.

“Let’s go, Ivy,” he said. He spun on his heels and walked toward the door.

“I have two more hours-”

When I protested, he stopped in his tracks and looked at me without words. I stomped past him and out the entrance of the hotel. Hollow sat in the driver’s seat quietly.

“You know that’s rude and made me look extremely unprofessional,” I snapped as I flopped into the seat and slammed the door.

“Stop letting niggas touch what’s mine before I show you unprofessional, Ma.” He warned.

I pouted, arms crossed across my chest as I looked out the window.

“Fix your face,” He scoffed as he turned me to him and kissed my nose and then scrolled on his phone like nothing had happened. Heat crept up my spine.

The way he just manhandled me, but with caution, was sexier than I wanted to admit. But I felt his presence loud and clear. It was like a warning shot; it was Judah’s way of letting me know that he owned New York and had staked his claim on me, too.

“This is so good!” I said as I ate from the plate with my eyes closed.

Judah had me downtown for the fifth time in six days.

After the first day of the conference, he took me to a soul food restaurant and let me try “candied yams,” and I had been hooked ever since.

Every time he asked me what I wanted to eat, I would ask if we could stop and get a side of them.

“You ain’t gone try nothing else, while you’re here?” He asked as he held my feet, which were crossed across his lap in the back seat of the truck.

“I mean, I have. I just want to eat this with it. Back home, these are just roasted. Not sweet. I’ve been missing out.” I said as I took another forkful and put it into my mouth, and did a shimmy.

“Don’t eat all that, we still have dinner tonight,” He reminded me.

Tonight was technically my last night in the States, and I genuinely had the best time of my life here.

I felt so free, and if I had to be honest, I didn’t want to leave Judah.

Our connection was unlike anything that I had ever felt before, and I didn’t want it to end.

If I had to go from being catered to like a princess and slutted out like a nympho back into the walls of that harem, I’d probably be next to Emilio in the rotation for whatever drugs he had. I would lose my mind.

Judah was everything he told me he wasn’t. And normally that’s a bad thing. But this time it was a pleasant surprise. He told me all the things he had never done and all the things he might not do, and he was doing them.

The moments that we spent here were some that I will remember forever. The kind that you sit on the edge of your bed at seventy and tell your grandchildren about.

“What you over there smiling about, Shorty. Them damn yams got you that happy?” He questioned, jarring me from my thoughts.

“No, you have me this happy,” I admitted with no hesitation. I had no reservations about letting Judah know that I was the happiest girl on the planet right now.

“I’ll make you feel like that for the rest of your life.”

He said it without thinking. My breathing hitched, and I just continued to eat my food while gazing. I appreciated that Hollow took different routes home; I knew it was a security tactic, but for me, it allowed me to see different parts of the city.

“What’s up, OG?” Judah said into the phone as he took a call.

“I’m busy right now, I just finished drops. Fuck! Aight, I’ll handle it.” He said before he disconnected the call. I wanted to ask if everything was okay, but I had learned to mind my business.

He dropped my feet from his lap and slid over to the window as if we weren’t still in the same car as he placed another call.

“Why didn’t you stop at the checkpoint?” His voice was sharp, barely recognizable. He got straight down to his reason for calling. No greetings, no formalities. I could hear a faint voice on the other end of the phone struggling to find an explanation.

“It’s not going to be a next time,” he said. I knew that it was a warning, and it sent a chill down my spine as he disconnected the call and sent a text message.

He didn’t slide back over; instead, he took deep breaths while my eyes just took in the large buildings, busy streets, taxi cabs, and shops along the way. Then he took a final deep breath and placed my feet back in his lap and off the seat.

“You, okay?” I raised an eyebrow. He was way too tense not to ask.

“Hell no,” he chuckled as he continued to type away on his phone.

“Anything you care to discuss?” I had to give him the option. He supported me through all of the bullshit that I had going on. If he said no, I would drop it.

“I was sidetracked today, and I missed something major. I’ll fix it, though.” He kept it short, and I nodded and gave him a slight smile.

“You can’t be everywhere at once, give yourself some grace,” I tried to reason as I leaned forward and rubbed the back of his head as she continued to send rapid-fire messages.

But I knew that it was easier said than done.

Someone had to die because of the mistake that was made.

Another reminder that Judah was so layered.

We pulled into the estate, and the gates opened for us. He opened the door and guided me out.

“You want me to carry you?” Judah asked me. My feet had been hurting in this specific pair of shoes, so I had taken them off and was now barefoot.

“No, it’s only a couple of steps, I got it.” I declined as I walked up to the door.

It clicked and unlocked no sooner than we had made it close. There was some sort of body detection on it. Judah was heavily into tech and security. The way this house was set up, like something from the future, surprised even me.

“Go ahead and get dressed, baby. I need to make a few calls. I’ll be up in a second.” He said as he blew out another breath and disappeared into the backyard. I shook my head and walked up the stairs. Whatever it was, it had him stressed out.

I ascended the stairs and turned on the water before I stood in front of the mirror and wiped off my makeup. Once I was done, I stepped into the shower and let the water cascade down my body. Underneath it, I thought about how much I didn’t want to return to the hell that awaited me in Bolivia.

An hour passed, and Judah still hadn’t come up. I showered, got dressed, and was sitting around waiting for him while he handled business.

Then he came up, and I could tell that he just wasn’t in the mood.

“We don’t have to go if you’re not up for it,” I said quietly as he moved around the room.

He stopped as he threw the clothing on the bed. “I’ll be aight,”

“Then don’t make me wait,” I smiled, trying to lighten the mood.

He chuckled, “You're right, baby. I don’t know who the fuck I think I am.”

Judah showered and got dressed fairly quickly because he was a stickler for time.

He wouldn’t let me be even a second late for anything since I had been here.

He was dressed casually today, in a T-shirt, jeans, and sneakers.

He had some chains on that he normally didn’t wear when conducting business. The man was fine.

Hollow drove us to a wooded area, where sticks and leaves crunched underneath the tires as we pulled down a road that was almost too dark to see. When he told me to dress down in sneakers, I did not expect this. Then Hollow parked, and my head snapped to Judah.

“Where the hell are we?” I asked.

“Get out,” he laughed as he opened the door and reached for my hand. Hesitantly, I grabbed it. If he wanted to know if I trusted him, this was the perfect time. Because he could’ve been taking me to my demise, and I was right behind him.

My eyes were wide as I struggled to see through the path.

“Judah!” I hesitated; this shit was way too creepy for me.

“Come on,” he tugged my arm. Pulling me through the darkness. Then once we reached the other side of the path, my fear turned into an instant smile.

On the other side of the woods that we had just trekked through was a trail. It was lit up with lights and a boardwalk.

“Damn, you made me think that I had fucked up the church’s money,” he said, making me laugh and smack his chest playfully.

I was skeptical at first, but I saw where he was going with the date. I’d have to make it clear that when I said that I love nature, it’s not the damn woods. But this was adorable.

We held hands as we walked through the trail until we reached an open space with a picnic set up, and we sat down. There were plush blankets stacked on top of one another so that we would be comfortable, as well as food and snacks. He even had little easels there so that we could paint.

“Judah, you’re going to paint?” I asked with a mouth full of food.

“Hell yeah, and I’ll finish before you. I swear I’ll dust your ass.”

“You’re going to beat me… In painting?” I screamed.

“Hell yeah, let’s go.” He said as he picked up the materials, and I actually raced this man to see who completed their painting first.

Of course, he made good on his promise to dust me because his painting looked like crap. I teased him about it, and we went back and forth about whose was better. Then I sat between his legs underneath the stars while he had me wrapped in his arms. Suddenly, I became overwhelmed with emotion.

“What’s wrong, Shorty?” He questioned me as he turned me on the blanket.

“I just don’t want to leave, I feel like I could stay in this moment forever,” I admitted.

“Then don’t,” he said, like the answer was that simple.

My eyes fell to the stitching on the blanket, and he tilted my head gently, bringing my face to him.

“Don’t,” He repeated as he peppered kisses on my lips that changed the course of the moment.

I grabbed his Cuban link and held him in place as I slipped my tongue inside of his mouth, and we kissed passionately.

The kiss fell from my lips to my neck, and then he brought my shirt over my head.

I should have had my reservations about being exposed in the woods, but here, underneath the beauty of the sky and my man, I didn’t give a damn.

He undressed me slowly, and it was something different about this interaction. It was slow, gentle, and passionate.

I moaned as his tongue traced my hardened nipple, then went to my stomach, and then he bit the waistband of the pants I had on.

I lift my hips, allowing him to slide them completely off.

He buried his face between my thighs, making me cry out in pleasure.

I could hear my voice echoing off the trees and creating a beautiful song.

I scratched his scalp as he ate me with expert precision. My back arched off the blankets until I collapsed against them once I released all over his beard.

He took off his shirt and leaned back on his knees and undid his belt, before he freed my second favorite thing about him. Then he repositioned himself back between my legs and teased my opening. He leaned down and grabbed my face.

“I love you, Ivy.” He moaned as he slid more of himself into me.

A smile spread on my lips, but my heart skipped a beat.

“I love you, too,” I admitted as he filled me with every inch that he had.

His strokes were deeper than they had ever been, and I could tell that he meant every word he had just spoken. The tempo was taking me over the edge, and I was going crazy underneath him.

“I’m not letting you go, baby.” He said against my neck as he bit it.

“Then don’t,” I cried as I scratched his back while I fought to stay conscious through a powerful release. He came with me and filled me with evidence of the effect that we had on each other.

We made love in the wild amongst the stars and whatever danger lurked in the shadows. It was a beautiful moment. One that I wasn’t ready to let go of, so I wasn’t.